1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to coating apparatus (for example, coating implements, coating device, etc.) for a liquid for protecting recorded products obtained by, for example, an ink-jet recording method or the like, a method of coating the liquid for protecting the recorded products on the recorded products and a process for protecting the recorded products.
2. Related Background Art
Ink-jet recording apparatus have permitted not only printing of text such as characters on paper, but also photograph-like printing by the technical developments as to formation of fine droplets and multi-gradation in recent years. At the same time, their application fields have been widened under the circumstances, since output and printing like displays have now become feasible as to not only text and designs, but also photograph-like printed articles and graphic arts because of spread of digital cameras. As a result, the shelf stability and the elongation of shelf life of an image in such a recorded product have become problems to be solved. Although good coloring is achieved in a printed article obtained by using a dye ink on a proper medium (recording medium), the durability and shelf stability of image may become poor in some cases. On the other hand, a printed article obtained by using a pigment ink may become poor in coloring and rub-off resistance of image under the circumstances though the shelf stability is excellent.
As a result, a countermeasure which may be taken in view of the shelf stability of an image is to achieve printing high in durability with a pigment. Another countermeasure is to protect a coloring material low in durability such as a dye. As methods for protection, known methods include laminating an image with a protective layer or sheet of a film-forming resin, for example, an acrylic resin, to protect it.
However, conventional protection methods, such as covering with glass or lamination with a resin, have sacrificed the feeling of image quality that comes from directly enjoying an image. In other words, with protection methods in which the image is viewed through a film or glass, the image has a different quality from an image that is observed directly.
On the other hand, even in the case where a recorded product is subjected to a countermeasure against image running caused by application of water drops to the recorded product and image deterioration caused by ultraviolet light as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-48180, such a recorded product has come to be further required to achieve durability not lower than the practical level over a long period of time. For example, even in recorded products obtained by making a record with a dye ink, those which are considered to undergo neither image running even upon contact with water nor deterioration at 10-year level even in a durability test under ultraviolet light are about to be provided according to recording media used. However, it has been actually found that when such a recorded product is stuck on a wall or the like, deterioration caused by moisture and trace component gases in the air, for example, ozone, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, etc. may occur in some cases even when a recording medium to which waterproofness and light fastness against ultraviolet light have been imparted is used.
However, it has been actually found that when such a recorded product is stuck on a wall or the like, deterioration caused by moisture and trace component gases in air, for example, ozone, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, etc. may occur in some cases even when a recording medium to which waterproofness and light fastness against ultraviolet light have been imparted is used.
It is an object of the present invention to provide various kinds of apparatus and devices used in protection of an image without using a method of laminating an image with a protective member such as glass or a film, by which a feeling of image quality of a naked image can be directly enjoyed, and a process for protecting an image by coating the image with a liquid for protection.
The present inventors have researched as to the direct maintenance of a naked image at a high shelf life without sacrificing the image quality due to interposition of a visible transparent layer, thus leading to completion of the present invention.
The present invention aims at filling voids left in a receiving layer after recording in such a system that a coloring material applied to the receiving layer clearly develops a color, thereby removing sites of a deterioration reaction of the coloring material. In this case, when a liquid for protection low in viscosity is used, penetration becomes quick, and the liquid is easy to be applied. In order to leave a liquid for protection in the receiving layer, however, it is necessary for the liquid to have a moderately high viscosity. When a liquid high in viscosity is used, implements and devices for uniformly applying the liquid are extremely useful. Namely, the present invention has been completed with the object of uniformly applying an intended amount of a liquid with no defect on an image surface even when the viscosity of the liquid is high.
In the protection treatment of an image using the liquid for protection, it is preferable to successfully meet the following requirements:
(1) As articles to be applied, may be mentioned recorded products using media (recording media) of various sizes such as
photograph size (89 mmxc3x97119 mm) called the L-plate size;
postal card size (100 mmxc3x97148 mm);
2L size (double of the L-plate size) (119 mmxc3x97178 mm);
A4 size (210 mmxc3x97297 mm); and
A3 size (420 mmxc3x97297 mm),
and it is preferable that the application of the liquid for protection to these recorded products of different sizes can be achieved;
(2) When the liquid for protection is applied to an image, a recorded product must be fixed. In this case, it is preferable to be able to solve such a problem that when ends of the recorded product are pressed with hands, the liquid cannot be applied to such portions, or the ends may be hard to press due to slipping after application in some cases and a problem that the liquid for protection may adhere to a hand upon operation in some cases, which may feel unpleasant.
(3) It is preferable that coating implements and devices of the liquid for protection be excellent in tightness without leaking the liquid when they are not used, and it is desirable that they be compact to save space upon storage.
In the present invention, investigations as to these various requirements have been carried out repeatedly, and technical elements, materials, etc. which can achieve these requirements have been investigated, thus leading to an invention relating to coating implements, kits, devices, coating methods and protection processes.
According to the present invention, there is thus provided a coating implement for applying a nonvolatile liquid for protection treatment to a recorded product which is provided with a porous layer as an ink-receiving layer on the surface of a substrate and on which an image has been formed with a coloring material adsorbed on at least the porous layer to protect the image, the liquid not dissolving the coloring material, wherein a coating surface of the implement for applying the liquid to the porous layer having the image is supported by a supporting member, and the coating surface can hold the liquid.
According to the present invention, there is also provided a kit for protection treatment of a recorded product which is provided with a porous layer as an ink-receiving layer on the surface of a substrate and on which an image has been formed with a coloring material adsorbed on at least the porous layer, said kit comprising a container which can hold a nonvolatile liquid which does not dissolve the coloring material, the coating implement described above and a supporting table for supporting the recorded product.
According to the present invention, there is further provided a coating device for protection treatment of a recorded product which is provided with a porous layer as an ink-receiving layer on the surface of a substrate and on which an image has been formed with a coloring material adsorbed on at least the porous layer, said coating device comprising a storage part which can store a nonvolatile liquid which does not dissolve the coloring material, a coating member which has a coating surface for coating the image with the liquid provided on an outer periphery of a shaft member and is supported rotatably on the shaft member, a moving means for moving the recorded product relative to the coating surface while bringing the image surface of the recorded product into contact with the coating surface, and a means for feeding the liquid stored in the storage part to the coating surface of the coating member.
According to the present invention, there is still further provided a coating implement for protection treatment of a recorded product which is provided with a porous layer as an ink-receiving layer on the surface of a substrate and on which an image has been formed with a coloring material adsorbed on at least the porous layer, said coating implement comprising a storage part which can store a nonvolatile liquid which does not dissolve the coloring material, and a coating surface which communicates with the storage part and through which the liquid fed from the storage part can seep.
According to the present invention, there is yet still further provided a kit for protection treatment of an image of a recorded product which is provided with a porous layer as an ink-receiving layer on the surface of a substrate and on which the image has been formed with a coloring material adsorbed on at least the porous layer, said kit comprising the coating implement described above and a supporting table for supporting the recorded product.
According to the present invention, there is yet still further provided a coating device for protection treatment of an image of a recorded product which is provided with a porous layer as an ink-receiving layer on the surface of a substrate and on which the image has been formed with a coloring material adsorbed on at least the porous layer, said coating device comprising a container part which can contain a nonvolatile liquid, which does not dissolve the coloring material, in a closed state, an introduction port for introducing the recorded product into the container part, and a takeoff port for discharging the recorded product from the interior of the container part, wherein the introduction and takeoff ports have such a structure that the ports can open upon passage of the recorded product, and a removing means for removing an excess liquid attached to the surface of the recorded product upon passage of the recorded product is provided at the takeoff port.
According to the present invention, there is yet still further provided a process for protecting a recorded product which is provided with a porous layer as an ink-receiving layer on the surface of a substrate and on which an image has been formed with a coloring material adsorbed on at least the porous layer, said process comprising the step of applying a nonvolatile liquid for protection, which does not dissolve the coloring material, in an amount in excess of the amount necessary for filling voids in the porous layer to the porous layer, on which the image has been formed, to fill the voids in the porous layer with the liquid for protection.
According to the coating implements, kits, devices and protection process related to the present invention, the protection treatment of an image of a recorded product can be performed quickly and with good operating ability to provide the sense of direct enjoyment of the protected image.